According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., causing one out of every four deaths. Cancer knows no racial, ethnic or gender boundaries, and can turn a person’s life upside down. I should know. My mother was stricken with breast cancer when I was 9, my sister was afflicted with the same disease in 1998, and my cousin was diagnosed with it just last year.

For those suffering from cancer, life as they have previously known it seems impossible. They feel terrified and alone. It seems that there is no one who can understand them or help them through the most difficult time in their lives.

But they’re wrong, because there is Hewlett House. In existence since March 2001, Hewlett House is an oasis for anyone wandering hopelessly through the desert of this disease. Its staff provides help, hope, hugs and hospitality. If someone suffering from cancer needs a prosthesis, someone to talk to, information on their affliction, or just a hot cup of coffee and a conversation, Hewlett House is there.

Before I became editor of the Herald, I did a story on Nassau’s RX Prescription Program and interviewed Geri Barish, the executive director of Hewlett House. In speaking with her, a cancer survivor herself, I could immediately sense the desire she has to help others who are going through what she did. Then, when I visited Hewlett House last week, I was overwhelmed by the warmth of the facility and the staff that works there. Besides all they have to offer to anyone who needs their help, it’s the love they have for what they do that makes Hewlett House what it is.

I had the pleasure of attending their "I Will Survive" dance at the Chateau Briand last Thursday, and I was amazed at how many people Barish and Hewlett House have helped. When Gloria Gaynor’s trademark anthem began to play, the dance floor filled with just that – survivors. Watching them dance with such joy, I will never think of that song the same way again.

If you or someone you know is battling cancer, please know that you don’t have to face it alone, because you have a friend – many of them – at Hewlett House.

For more information on the facility, to make a donation, or if you’d just like to stop by for a hot cup of coffee and a warm hug, call (516) 374-3190.

If only my mother, sister and cousin had known of Hewlett House back when they needed it most.